If the first thing that comes to your mind is, “How do you even pronounce that?” I’ll tell you. It’s pronunced FUH. Its a soup that is originally made with chicken but can also be made meatless. I love the original chicken version. It’s warm and comforting and since I’ve had a cold for a week now, it’s the perfect meal for tonight. I first had it years ago at a Vietnamese restaurant in Arizona. This place was the real deal. It was a family owned business and the wife was Vietnamese and the master mind behind all the insanely mouth watering dishes.

I really enjoy soups and dishes that have an assortment of veggies that can be added as toppings. I like the variety and the explosion of flavors in my mouth. The main ingredients of Pho are of course chicken, which is cooked in water with fresh ginger and onion, and the veggie toppings, which are so fun and add so much flavor to the soup. I’ve tried different versions of Pho and this is mine. I hope you enjoy it.

There is a funny story about this Pho that I must tell you. When the soup was ready and we began to assemble the bowls and began to eat, I realized I hadn’t taken photos of the finished recipes. I really want to get this recipe out to you because many of you have requested it. I apologize about the absence of photos and vow to include more photos next time I cook Pho for my family. For now you will just have to take my word for it. I guarantee your family will love it and ask for seconds.

The first thing you need to do is decide whether to use chicken breasts or a whole chicken or legs and thighs or other chicken pieces. The original Pho calls for cooking your whole chicken in water along with a yellow onion and fresh ginger. Because it’s a weeknight and a school night, I decided to use chicken tenders. They cook quickly and are skinned and ready to go.

1 Whole chicken (you'll only use half) or chicken thighs and legs, chicken breasts or tenders

(I used 2 lbs of chicken tenders)

1 large yellow onion

1 large chunk of fresh ginger

6-8 cups water

Toppings:

green onions (5 green onions or 1 bunch)

bean sprouts (2 cups)

Thai basil (1/2 cup)

Spinach or bok choy (about two handfuls)

cilantro (1/2 bunch)

limes cut in wedges

salt to taste

Rice noodles (fresh or dry)

Optional: sriracha or asian red pepper paste

In small frying pan, roast yellow onion whole and with skin on. Also roast fresh ginger with skin on.

You'll need to watch this and frequently move around in pan so as to not burn a particular side. After the ginger and onion are all blackened looking, peel both and toss into the water.

Simmer your chicken with skin on for about one hour. If you've chosen to use skinless, this next part will be even easier for you. If you've chosen to use chicken with skin you will begin to see foam forming. You'll need to skim off the foam until the broth appears clear. It will take you about 5-6 minutes.

The whole chicken will take about an hour to cook.The skinless chicken breasts will cook in about 20 minutes and the tenders in about 12 minutes.

Remove onion and ginger. Discard.

Remove chicken and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle shred chicken.

In a separate pot cook the rice noodles according to package directions. They only take about 3 minutes to cook.

Now it's time to arrange your bowl.

First add the noodles to your bowl. Then add chicken. Next add broth. Last, you'll want to arrange toppings around your bowl and squeeze lime juice over the top and sriracha if you'd like some heat.

These are my preferred lentils to use for soups and salads. Almost double the fiber and protein content of brown, french, or orange lentils. Plus I love the flavor, which more closely resembles a black bean. Lentils are so easy to use and no nourishing. You don’t need to soak them the day before and in under one hour you have a hearty meal. Another thing that I love